You are a brave, lady.

Linda

Daring is the right word - I'm amazed you let him drive without a legal permit. We had a similar situation near here last summer and the young driver accidentally hit the gas instead of the break and killed a child.

I'll bet Parke was thrilled!

I'm a big chicken when it comes to riding with someone who is just learning. I have a granddaughter that is nearing that age.....are you available for lessons? LOL!

Oh my, thanks quilly, but as I said, I took precautions.
No more need to be said. Speed limit was 25 mph, in an area with light traffic.

Too daring for me! I've seen my nephew miss the brake and almost run into a car... and this is when he'd had a permit for some time already. A big empty parking lot is a better place to practice.

Glad you didn't end up in jail on your birthday!

At first I was going to say good for you.

But then as I was typing I thought about it.

He does not have a permit to be behind the wheel at all yet.

I don't know about Alabama but where I live if he was stopped for any reason it would be a driving without a license misdemeanor. Your car would be impounded and he would NOT be getting his permit in two weeks. Both of you would have your day in court and fines would be upwards of $1000. That would not include court costs and other costs related to getting this cleaned off both YOUR and HIS record. I don't even want to think what would happen to your insurance rate.

If there was an accident, and accidents happen even at 25 MPH and in light traffic, the outcome would be horrendous for both of you. Even if the other driver was at fault.

Please STOP. I am an educated person. Know the right and wrong, so leave me alone.

Some of you are so opionated,wildchild, etc. I am a grownup and know what I am doing and what NOT to do, THANK YOU.
I am not dumb!

I'm sure Glenda trusted Parke or she wouldn't have let him drive. Some kids are more trustworthy than others.
My oldest grandson, I would have let him drive my car in a heartbeat..even before he got his permit, if I had to. The other grandsons...not so much. lol

The thing is, sure..something bad COULD have happened,. in fact it could happen to any of us. (God Forbid!) But, it didn't.

I trust Glenda didn't have him out joyriding and throwing back beers. In fact, I'm guessing it was a short ride on a street with very light traffic.

And I know she made him one happy kid by trusting him enough to do that.

If you didn't want to hear what others had to say about your adventure you shouldn't have posted here.

I was lucky when my kids got their learner's permits. Our high school has driver's education with classroom hours, driving in a simulator, and then when the teacher thinks they're ready for behind the wheel he takes the students out in the school parking lot and then out on the road. That seemed to work fairly well.

Does your GS's school have anything like that? 2 weeks isn't that long.

I'm sorry. I've seen too many serious accidents with young drivers to keep quiet. She may have made him happy but they both broke the law, so did his parents who also let him drive. Not a great lesson to teach a teen who will soon be driving. When my DD was in HS one of her classmates who had just passed her driver's test offered a ride to a friend and they had an accident on the way home - and the friend died.

Since then NJ has adopted a graduated driver's license and I wish every state had them.

Here is a link that might be useful: graduated license

Thanks Carol, I was just posting happy memories of a wonderful birthday.

I did what I knew in my heart was right and no regrets.

People somehow just love to criticize when they can, especially me.

I did what I did, what I thought best and so be it.

Glenda

You stretched the rules a little. So what?

The elation Parke felt and your enjoyment of indulging him are priceless.

When I was about 12 my father got in the passenger seat and told me to drive. I was sorta scared, but excited at the same time. Don't know if there were learner's permits then. We were making memories and did not realize it.

Years later I put my young DGD in my car and let her drive all over my pasture as much as she liked. These are much newer memories.

Glenda, You might be an "educated" woman, but that doesn't mean that you are a "smart" woman. You totally disrepected the law and also let your grandson learn that it's OK to disrespect the law. An educated woman would teach her grandson that the law is to be respected. Immediate gratificaton is certainly not the best way to go when you put others at risk. It doesn't matter what the speed limit is...I was in an accident and ended up in the hospital when a new driver, along with his mother in the seat next to him, didn't see my car and, after stopping at a stop sign he went through it. Education is not the sign of intelligence. Common sense is!

Glenda...it's the bully crowd.They know what's right for everybody remember..we are denied the right to think and do for ourselfs. LOL Ignore their ridiculous rants.

Glenda, I hope you both had fun. When I was a kid we were all driving without our permit or license for 2 to 3 years before we were legal. Now that I think about it, I can't believe that my parents let this happen but I do understand that this is different times. I grew up on a farm and we were sent out to get supplies.

I do not see anything wrong with what you did. You didn't give him the car and tell him to go out and have fun with it. To those who have given you a hard time, I say lighten up. You are way too uptight. I would have hated to have been a kid in your house.

The more time behind the wheel - the better the driver! Good for you Glenda!

My kids started driving when they were way younger (farm driving) and you can tell the difference in kids that have spent more time behind the wheel.

DS gets his school permit in a week - he is 14 and will be able to drive to school by himself....he is beyond excited to get it. He has finished drivers ed and has been driving for 6 months - legally - lol!

You GS will be such better driver if he has more opportunities to drive with you and also his parents.

Well here (in Washinton state,) a learners permit is exactly that. It is given at 15.6 years of age. The learner drives with an adult until they are 16. SO what law was broken> He has a permit, a BRAVE Grandmother who loves him and people are spun up? Go figure!
I took out both of my friends sons' at thgat age, they had no problems and were VERY cautious! My sons were as well. You go Glenda!

He has a permit No, he doesn't. Glenda says he will get his permit in 2 weeks.

He does NOT have a permit! NO PERMIT! She allowed him to feel he was entitled to be above the law. That is NOT what a parent or grandparent should do. Not under ANY circumstance. Shame on all of you who feel that it's right to let your kids feel that they don't have to obey the law because Mommy, Daddy or Grandma thinks it's "fun".

I am glad you had fun, Glenda. I am sure you left your grandson with a neat memory!
No need for anyone to be negative about it. We all break the law a little. Even sampling a grape at the grocery is breaking a law. :)

(((Glenda))) Sigh!

I agree that it wasn't a great idea but I think the personal attacks are a little ridiculous. I'm confident it wasn't done from a place of recklessness but rather wanting to surprise her grandson. Yes, terrible things could have happened but they didn't. I think we're all guilty of similar mindsets at one time or another.

I figure if the grandkid is old enough to drive, that they need to chauffeur me around. I earned it!! I drove them around enough!! LOL

It might not have been the best thing to do, but the personal attacks make me angry. There is no better person--certainly no better grandmother--at the KT than Glenda.

Please remember the Golden Rule! Would those who have never made an error in judgment please come forward so we can acknowledge you and recommend you for sainthood.

Whew...sorry for all the negativity Glenda.... Good for you! No big deal.gheez.. I also helped teach my grandson to drive... Just shows what we already know... You are the coolest grandma ever.. and I am sure Parke will agree!!!

i taught myolder daughter to drive. She got her permit first. We drove around the parking lots of two churches.then I let her drive around the neighborhood. I can't parallel park so I read the instructions to her and she did it herself. Pased the road test first time. My second daughter failed the written test for her permit the first time. Studdied the book diligently then passed it the next day. She never needed driving lessons. Her sister taught her. She passed the road test easily. Today both are good drivers.

I don't think you are a dumb person either Glenda... (please don't get mad at me...I always support you)but this time you could have gotten in trouble doing this.

I'm really surprised you'd take the chance. I know it must have made him happy and good memories...You were lucky it was good memories. He could have been stopped, ticketed and made to wait until he was, I think 18 to try for his license. Not sure what the laws are there.

Still luv ya though.

patti

You know what? I love to read Glenda's posts. I love hearing about her adventures and trips and about her grandson, who she obviously loves very much and wants to share with us.
I don't however enjoy reading all the criticism that so many feel they need to express on posts. If you're asked for an opinion, fine. If not, just pass on by if you don't agree with what is posted.
This forum is getting silly.
It's no wonder I spend more time elsewhere now!

Glenda, I can remember taking my brother's car...no permit, no license and driving to my girl friends house one night. It was a stick shift and the car bucked all the way there because I was a little slow with the clutch. I often think how lucky I was I didn't get caught. Of course, in those days there was no traffic on the road but me. I'm sure there was probably no traffic when you were out, too. I said I didn't know who was luckier. Parke for getting to spend the day with you or you for getting to spend the day with him. Now I know.

Of coarse Glenda knows the licensing rules. It was grandmotherly love when she chose to surprise Parke by letting him take a quick drive in her car. . She did so cautiously. I do not see the need to get on her case so harshly.

A message from another doting grandmother.

Mush, I could not agree more..... Glenda, you go girl !!!!

This place has surely gotten negative. No wonder so many have left for other forums. Whenever I want to post something, I think twice about it and don't usually post.
My dad started teaching me to drive when I was 14. I first had to wash and vacuum the family car and then we would go out into the country. This was in '56 and we had one car with a stick shift and one was automatic. He would only let me drive the stick. When I was 16 and went in to get my license, I was told I first had to have a learner's permit. I got my permit and went back the next day and got my license. The test person said I sure drove well for only driving one day. LOL.

Oh good gosh!
I'm getting reminded fast why I don't post very often anymore!!

Glenda, you brought back a great memory for me. Our youngest daughter was going to take her first driver's training class the next day. I took her over to the school where there is a huge parking lot and let her get behind the wheel. What great fun. The next morning the teacher asked how many had every drove before and she was so proud to hold up her hand.

Maybe it wasn't the best thing to go out on the road but I'm not going to tar and feather you for doing so. I'm so happy you have a grandson that loves you so deeply.

Well even Glenda herself said it was a daring ride so she knew it was risky and I wouldn't mentioned the fact of illegal because others here have already brought that up. Heck...Glenda said she knows right and wrong so far be for any of us to remind her or mention it. Hopefully Parke will pass the learners permit test in a couple of weeks and it'll be a moot point. Well...except he'll need to follow the rules & regulations set forth with that permit under the Alabama DMV. Or he should. (But that's not for us to say either or to warn Glenda about because she "knows".) All that really matters is that Glenda has a warm and fuzzy from the experience.

Well my son took me on a daring ride yesterday by flying through a stop sign, and he's had his license for 2 years. Which leads me to believe that I'd rather a learner on the roads, permit or none, than a licensed youngster. At least when they're learning they have someone to guide them, unlike a licensed driver who can drive on their own with no guidance.

These children pick up bits of driving skills when they're toddlers. Look at them driving those little battery operated cars that they sit it. I went on a race track one time that had hills, slopes and high speed. The children (from aged 10) were overtaking me.

I'm not sure what a learner's permit is - whether they test you or train you just enough to get on the road, but here just about all the drivers drive before they're of age and the only place to drive is on the road. There's no such thing as a learner's permit.

Every single day one of us looks back and says, "What did I do? It could have been disastrous!" But love tends to supercede our judgment.

It may have been a dangerous step, but it's a step that may make him a more assured driver.

I taught both of my kids to drive,without the permits at hand at the time too...then I taught them,with the permits..either way,I dont think that there are really that many ppl out there in the "real" world who havent had this experience or know of someone really close that has.

I too,post at another place..and say and do what I like without the nay sayers jumping every thread.

Oh,for the good old KT days...Anyways Glenda,be cautious,as you are,be careful,and hope that the next 2 wks pass quickly...above all,enjoy your time with Parke.

Everyone, I am really NOT attacking Glenda...just what she did. I know she's a great person and grandmother and I loved reading her posts and seeing her pictures of her cruise with her grandson. Maybe I went overboard, but as I stated, I was in an accident three yrs ago with a brand new driver. He was with his mom and they were practicing in a residential area. The speed limit was 25 mpr. I saw his car stopped at the stop sign. I had the right of way. Just as I was about to pass his car, he pulled out in front of me. For some unknown reason, he didn't see my car. He was a very sweet child with an equally sweet mom. They wanted to pay for the damages to car without us calling the police or reporting it to the insurance company because the boy would not be able to have a permit until he was 18 plus his insurance rates and his parents rates would go up so high. However, it became evident that I needed to get to the hospital, so an ambulance was called. My 3 yr. granddaughter was in her car seat in the back and Thank God wasn't hurt. When I got to the hospital, they had to do an emergency hysterectomy because I was bleeding so rapidly. (the lap part of the seat belt hit me in a way that caused a rupture to a small ovarian cyst I'd had for a while. Because of all the blood, a total hysterectomy had to be done. Now, all this and both cars were going the speed limit of 25 mpr. No one "expects" an accident. It just happens and there is NO WAY we can control it. I don't mean to squash anyone's fun, but let's do fun within the law and remembering that other people are on the same roads that you are on and you could possibly be putting others in danger. I guess I also don't think that this is the same as eating a grape in the grocery store. I almost lost my life due to the the rupture and I also had a treasured grandchild in my car. Sorry if I offended anyone..that wasn't what I intened to do, however, it makes me see red when I hear someone say that they took all precautions and no accident could possibly have happened. That's just no being realistic.

Holy hell, another post that looks like it's turning into a trainwreck!!

Well, for my 2 cents, that's probably worth less than 2 cents, haha, I say good for you Glenda. My Mom, who was also a teacher, taught senior high health and phys ed. for 35 years, would have done the exact same thing. And she also was both Educated and Smart.

I didn't read all the posts, stopped after the first few telling you it's wrong, dumb, etc. My personal opinion is chill, she let her grandson drive the car around a little. So no one else here has ever done something like that? If that's the case, kudos to the people who have never broken or bent the law.

I hope I'm still around and able to take my grandkids out for a conspiracy ride with grandma!!

It wasn't a life lesson about breaking the law and being entitled and above the law. It was a moment with grandma to be cherished and remembered forever. I also think that this young man has a good enough upbringing to truly know the difference from right and wrong and has been taught respect for the law.

I just think anyone who thinks it's wrong could have said something like "I don't think you should have done that" and been done with it. Speak your opinion, nicely, and go on.

High five to you Glenda (whether it's right or wrong for me to do so!)

I (strongly!) disagree with was done here, partly due to the fact that someone near and dear to me suffered great harm because someone else decided to allow what Glenda allowed. However, instead of "yelling" at Glenda, I will take the above suggestion and just say "I don't think you should have done that"

Elisabeth